It's important for a TV show to hook viewers from the very start, and that's exactly what House of Cards did with this powerful and shocking scene which helped to set the stage for everything that followed in season one. As a dog lays dying in the street after being struck by a car, seemingly good neighbour Frank Underwood arrives to help. Left alone, he kneels by the poor animal to seemingly comfort it, only to promptly strangles it to death. It's during this moment that Frank breaks the fourth wall and addresses the viewer for the first time, stating: "Moments like this require someone who will act, who will do the unpleasant thing - the necessary thing." The message could not be clearer, and while putting a dog out of its misery with his bare hands certainly wasn't normal, it did at least offer a glimpse into the workings of Frank's mind and why he makes the choices he does.
